Bonding for multipart continuous business forms



March 31, 1970 D'ARLE G. BASH BONDING FOR MULTIPART CONTINUOUS BUSINESS FORMS Filed March 11, 1968 f 1 Ooodbololooooooooloooooo\oooooooooofooooooqoc oo INVENTOR. D'ARLE s. BASH.

ATT'YS United States Patent O 3,503,629 BONDING FOR MULTIPART CONTINUOUS BUSINESS FORMS DArle G. Bash, Miami, Fla. (1047 Venetia Ave., Coral Gables, Fla. 33134) Filed Mar. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 712,246 Int. Cl. B411 N26 US. Cl. 282-l1.5 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a continuous forms assembly of the type wherein a pair of superposed strips are connected together by an intervening bonding member connected at one line to an overlying strip and at another line to the underlying strip, the improvement wherein the bonding member contains a longitudinally extending series of substantially V-shaped slits pointing in one longitudinal direction of the strips and forming a longitudinal extending series of chevron-shaped links which allow the pair of strips to move in both longitudinal directions relative to each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Multipart continuous business forms are available commercially, and they sometimes consist of superposed alternating record and transfer strips provided with transversely extending lines of perforations spaced longitudinally of the strips to define individual sets of forms. The record strips usually have a longitudinal line of perforations enabling them to be separated from the transfer strips by tearing. A continuous forms assembly, when in use, is often passed automatically through printing machines or other machines, the machines sometimes being connected with a computer. The forms assembly must be designed such that it will pass freely through the machines without causing jamming, or without being torn or otherwise mutiliated due to some defect in the forms assembly,

One such defect or problem frequently encountered is known as tenting. The strips of a forms assembly are sometimes glued together rigidly along one margin of the assembly. Glue is applied to the marginal portions of the strips in an assembly machine, and as the assembly comes out of the machine, it is automatically folded in a zig-zag fashion into a pack. The glue has not completely set at the time of folding, and therefore the individual strips are displaced relative to each other. This displacement occurs because at each fold the outer strip must fold over a greater distance than the inner strip, and of course intermediate strips also fold over different distances. When the glue sets, the strips are held together rigidly in this displaced or fanned fashion. Then, when the assembly is fed into a printing machine or other machine, it unfolds, but since the strips cannot shift back to their original positions, they hump or buckle at the lines where the folds were located. This elfect is known as tenting. In passing through the machine, the humps tend to catch andotherwise interfere with free passage of the assembly through the machine, and this may cause jamming of the machine, tearing or mutilation of the forms assembly or other difficulties.

Another problem is that such forms assemblies are typically provided with feeding apertures along one or both side edges of the strips, and due to the displacement of strips relative to each other as described above, the feed apertures become misaligned. This may also interfere with proper feeding of the forms assembly.

In attempting to solve tenting and misalignment problems, it has been proposed to bond the individual strips of a continuous forms assembly together in a manner 3,503,629 Patented Mar. 31, 1970 such that when the assembly is folded after gluing, the strips will become displaced relative to each other, but the glued portions will not become displaced, Then, when the assembly is unfolded as it passes through a printer, the strips will return to their aligned positions.

In one specific type of forms assembly, a free marginal portion of the transfer stri between two record strips is secured at one line to the overlying record strip and at another laterally spaced line to the underlying record strip, and this free marginal portion contains a longitudinally extending series of diagonal slits forming diagonal links or ties. When one record strip is pulled in one longitudinal direction relative to the other strip, the links or ties buckle to allow displacement of the strips in that direction. However, the strips can move only in that direction. If the strips are pulled in the opposite longi tudinal direction, the links become taut and do not allow any relative movement between the strips.

It would be desirable if the strips could be bonded together in such a way that a pair of record strips could be moved in both longitudinal directions relative to each other. When a forms assembly is folded after gluing as described above, it is folded first in one direction and then in the other direction, and consequently there is a need for pairs of strips to move in both longitudinal directions. Known systems have not allowed such bi-directional movement of two record strips. It would be desirable if this result could be achieved with forms assemblies of the type containing record and carbon strips and also those of a type where no carbons are required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a bonding system for a forms assembly including, a plurality of superposed strips wherein a pair of such strips are marginally connected together by a bonding member in which is provided a longitudinally extending series of substantially V-shaped slits pointing in one longitudinal direction of the strips and forming a longitudinally extending series of chevronshaped links which allow the pair of strips to move in both longitudinal directions relative to each other. The strips are ordinarily comprised of alternating record strips and transfer (carbon) strips, and the slits are ordinarily provided in a marginal portion of the transfer strips which act as bonding members, Considering two record strips separated by a transfer strip, if one record strip is pulled in one longitudinal direction relative to the other record strip, one leg of the chevron-shaped links buckles to allow movement of the record strip which is pulled. Conversely, if the same record strip is pulled in the opposite longitudinal direction relative to the other record strip, the other leg of each chevron-shaped link buckles to allow movement of the record strip which is pulled. It has been found that this bi-directional flexibility solves the tenting and misalignment problems referred to above. In assemblies where self duplicating paper is used such that no transfer strips are required, the bonding members may be in the form of tapes provided with the same arrangement of V-shaped slits as described above.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved bonding system for multipart continuous business forms.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bonding system for a continuous forms assembly wherein a free marginal portion of a transfer strip secured at one line to an overlying record strip and secured at another laterally spaced line to an underlying record strip is provided with substantially V-shaped slits pointing in one longitudinal direction of the strips and forming a longitudinally extending series of chevron-shaped links which allow the record strips to move in both longitudinal directions relative to each other.

Another object of the invention is to provide a continuous forms assembly wherein superposed strips of the self duplicating type are bonded together by intervening tapes each connected at one line to an underlying strip and at another line to an overlying strip, each tape being provided with a longitudinally extending series of substantially V-shaped slits forming chevron-shaped links which allow the record strips to move in both longitudinal directions relative to each other.

The phrase substantially V-shaped as used herein is intended to embrace the cases wherein the point-end of the V is blunted or rounded, but this construction is not preferred.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

ON THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating the manner in which continuous strips are glued together and folded into a zig-zag pack in a manner which causes tent- 8;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic drawing showing how humps are formed in a continuous forms assembly after gluing and folding in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a multipart continuous forms assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the forms assembly showing how V-shaped slits are provided in the transfer strips of the assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the forms assembly in an expanded condition; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWINGS Referring first to FIGURE 1, three paper strips 10', 12 and 14 are shown being pulled under respective rollers 16, 18 and 20 by drive rollers 22 and 24. Roller 24 has teeth 26 which engage feeding apertures in the strips in order to advance the strips. From rollers 22 and 24, the strips pass over a roller 28 and down to a point where they fold automatically into a zig-zag pack 30 indicated by dashed lines.

FIGURE 1 merely illustrates how strips 10, 12- and 14 may be glued together at a marginal edge such that tenting results. Glue is applied to a marginal edge of strip 10 by an applicator 32, and glue is applied to a marginal edge of strip 12 by another applicator 34. When the strips come together as at 36, their marginal edges become glued together. However, the glue does not completely set before the strips are folded into the zig-zag pack 30. Thus, it may be seen that where the strips fold in one direction, strip 14 has to fold over a greater distance than strip 10, and where the strips fold in the other direction, strip 10 has to fold over a greater distance than strip 14. Consequently, the strips become displaced relative to each other during the folding, and the glue sets after the strips have been folded.

When the pack 30 is unfolded, for example in feeding the forms into a printing machine, humps form where the strips have been folded in the manner indicated schematically in FIGURE 2. This problem is known as tenting. The humps in the forms assembly 38 can easily cause the forms assembly to get caught in a machine, or become mutilated, or otherwise interfere with smooth feeding of the forms assembly through the machine. Also, the feed apertures in the forms are misaligned, and this can also interfere with proper feeding of the assembly.

FIGURES 3-5 illustrate a forms assembly in accordance with the invention which overcomes the tenting and misalignment problems. There is shown a forms assembly 42 consisting of record strips 44, 46 and 48 with transfer strips 50 and 52 interleaved between the record strips (FIG. 5). In this forms assembly, only three record strips and two transfer strips are shown, but it is common to provide more record and transfer strips in such assemblies. The record strips are typically a series of printed business forms 54 as indicated in FIGURE 3. The transfer strips are ordinarily of carbon paper.

The record strips 44, 46 and 48 are provided with feed apertures 56 along one marginal edge thereof and other feed apertures 58 along the other marginal edge thereof.

The transfer strips 50 and 52 may terminate short of these feed apertures at both margins.

The continuous forms assembly 42 is divided by transverse perforations 60 into individual forms assemblies 54, these perforations 60 being provided in both the record strips and the transfer strips. There is also a longitudinal line of perforations 62 provided in each of the record strips so that the individual record sheets can be torn out of the individual forms assemblies and thus separated from the carbon sheets.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 and 5, the line portion 64 of transfer strip 50 (portion 64 being free of carbon) is glued by a streak of adhesive on its underside to the underlying record strip 46. A line portion 66 of transfer strip 50 is glued by another streak of adhesive to the overlying record strip 44. Thus, the portion 68 of transfer strip 50 is a free marginal portion which is secured along one line portion 64 to the underlying record strip and along another line portion 66 to the overlying record strip. Marginal portion 68 serves as a bonding portion. The underside of transfer strip 50 may be uricarbonized from edge 63 inwardly to a point past line portion 66, the remainder of the underside of strip 50 being carbonized. It may be noted that although line portion 64 is secured to the underlying record strip and line portion 66 is secured to the overlying record strip, this arrangement could be reversed. The other transfer strips such as 52 are secured to the adjoining record strips in the same manner.

In order to impart flexibility to the portion 68 of transfer strip 50, a longitudinally extending series of V-shaped slits 70 are cut through bonding portion 68. Slits 70 form a series of chevron-shaped links 72 which extend between line portions 64 and 66. It may be noted that the slits 70 and the links 72 all point in one longitudinal direction of the strips, and it is apparent that they could point in the opposite direction. Considering one link 72, it consists of a first leg 74 and a second leg 76. If record strip 44 is pulled to the left (as viewed in FIGURE 4) relative to record strip 46, leg 76 will be in tension and leg 74 in compression. Consequently, leg 74 will buckle so that record strip 44 can be moved to the left relative to record strip 46. A small amount of lateral movement accompanies this longitudinal movement.

Now, if record strip 44 is pulled to the right relative to record strip 46, leg 74 will be in tension and leg 76 in compression. Consequently, leg 76 buckles to allow record strip 44 to move to the right relative to record strip 46. Obviously, all of the links 72 behave in the same fashion.

This bi-directional flexibility is imparted between each pair of record strips adjoining a given transfer strip. Each such pair of record strips can move in both longitudinal directions relative to each other. Since the forms assembly is folded in opposite directions to provide a zig-zag pack in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1, the fact that the strips are movable in both longitudinal directions helps to eliminate the tenting problem.

The V-shaped slits 70 may have an angle at the point thereof of about 60 degrees, but this value is not critical. As previously mentioned, the point of the V could be flattened or rounded, but this may detract slightly from the desired flexibility and is not recommended.

FIGURE 6 shows another embodiment of the invention. Superposed strips 80, 81 and 82 are record strips of the type of paper known as N.C.R., i.e., no carbon required. These strips are self duplicating in the sense that if top strip 80 is inscribed, say by a type face, the mark formed thereon will be duplicated'on the other strips 81 and 82. The record strips are provided with feeding apertures 84, along side marginal edges thereof.

Only portions of strips 80, 81 and 82 are shown in FIG- URE 6, but it is to be understood that they are parts of a continuous forms assembly much like that shown in FIG. 3, there being transverse lines of perforations like perforations 60 dividing the assembly into sets of forms, and longitudinal lines of perforations 86 for separating individual forms from their marginal stubs.

Between each adjacent pair of record strips are intervening bonding members in the form of paper tapes 88 and 90. Considering tape 88 by way of example, it is folded along line 92. One of its edges 94 is glued to underlying strip 81 and the other of its edges 96 is glued to overlying strip 80, the glue lines being located just inside the feed apertures 84. Tape 88 is provided with a longitudinally extending series of V-shaped slits 98 all pointing in the same longitudinal direction of the strips and forming chevron-shaped links 100. The links 100 act in the same way as links 72 described in connection with FIGURE 4. For example, if strip 80 is pulled to the left relative to strip 81, legs 102 are in tension and legs 104 buckle to allow strip 80 to move to the left. If strip 80 is pulled to the right relative to strip 81, legs 104 are in tension and legs 102 buckle to allow strip 80 to move to the right. Thus, the strips have the same type of bi-directional flexibility described in connection with FIGURES 3-5.

It will be understood that tape 90 is identical to tape 88'. Furthermore, the V-shape of the slits and the chevronshape of the links appears when the tapes are spread flat. The tapes 88 and 90 could be glued to the underlying and overlying strips respectively at laterally spaced glue lines with the tapes being fiat rather than folded, if desired.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a forms assembly of the type including at least three superposed record strips and at least two flexible bonding strips, thus defining at least two pairs of superposed strips, each pair including two record strips and an intervening bonding strip; and wherein, in each pair, the record strips are marginally interconnected by an intervening flexible bonding strip, the latter being secured at one line parallel to a side edge of the strips to the overlying strip and at another line parallel to the said side edge to the underlying strip; with the two securing lines being at one edge of the forms assembly and being closely adjacent to each other and each being of a slow setting adhesive;

the bonding strip containing between the two securing lines a longitudinally extending line of apertures arranged such that the two strips of said pair are movable longitudinally relative to each other;

the improvement whereby the apertures are V-shaped slits all pointing in a longitudinal direction of the respective bonding strip forming a longitudinally extending series of chevron-shaped links all pointing in a longitudinal direction of the respective bonding strip, which allow said pair of record strips to move in both longitudinal directions relative to each other from an intermediate position;

the chevron shape of each link providing not only two bending or pivoting points at the ends of each link but also a third bending or pivoting point at the central apex of each link; the chevron shape of the links providing in each link two wings respectively on opposite sides of the central apex; whereby the slitted bonding strip may flex in two opposite longitudinal directions; flexing in one longitudinal direction being enabled by one set of wings, there being a pivoting on the apices in that one direction; and flexing in the opposite longitudinal direction being enabled by the other set of wings, there also being a pivoting on the apices but oppositely.

2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein the V- shaped slits in one bonding strip are identical with and facing in the same direction as those of the next adjacent bonding strip.

3. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein the bonding strips are integral edge portions of intervening flimsy transfer strips collated within the record strips alternately.

4. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein the V- shaped slits in one bonding strip are identical with and facing in the same direction as those of the next adjacent bonding strip and wherein the bonding strips are integral edge portions of intervening flimsy transfer strips collated within the record strips alternately.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,907,585 10/ 1959 Sornberger et al.

3,112,125 11/1963 Darrow.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,006,662 10/ 1965 Great Britain.

JEROME S-CHNALL, Primary Examiner 

